Portable strap hub

ABSTRACT

A speed handle and portable hub for use in combination with a strap winch on a flat bed trailer. The straps used to secure loads on trailers can be 30 to 40 feet in length. There is no good way to wind these straps and to securely store the straps when not in use. Currently the job is done by hand which is very slow and tedious. A portable hub can be mounted for rotation through the winch and a speed handle can be used to quickly wind the strap up on the portable hub forming a strap roll. Once the strap is wound on the portable hub, the portable hub can be removed from the winch and the strap roll can be removed from the portable hub for safe storage. The combination of the portable hub and speed handle provides an efficient way to create a strap roll that can be stored to prevent theft of the strap.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] Pursuant to 35 USC paragraph 119 (e)(l) applicant claims priority of a provisional patent application Ser. No. 462,612 filed Apr. 14^(th), 2003

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] In the trucking industry it is desirable to be able to secure loads on flat bed trailers. A variety of techniques have been used to secure loads on a flat bed. The most commonly used method today is to secure the load with straps. These straps are positioned over a load and cinched down using winding winches secured to the trailer just below the bed. Once the load is removed the straps must be wound back up on the winch and this is currently done by hand.

[0003] The straps used to secure a load can be in excess of 50 foot in length and winding them up by hand is very time consuming. The winding winches used are fairly standard in the industry and include a winding lug having four radial holes. The lug is typically used in conjunction with a cheater bar to provide extra leverage in cinching down the straps. Because of the problem with hand winding there has been some attempt to develop a tool to engage the lug to assist in winding up the straps.

[0004] Additionally once straps are wound back on the winch there is a problem with the straps being stolen. Flat bed trailers having 6-12 straps are often parked in dark and unguarded areas. A strap can be stolen from an existing winch simply by grabbing the free end of the strap and pulling to unwind the strap from the winch. A thief can steal 8 straps in a matter of less than 5 minutes and those straps can have a retail value of several hundred dollars.

[0005] A number of strap winders have been proposed that allow the trucker to wind straps for storage inside the cab of the truck to prevent theft. Some winders clamp to the side of a flat bed trailer. These clamp on devices are time consuming to use and usually fail to hold to the trailer because of the torque applied in using them. Another common alternative is to wind straps up by hand, a very time consuming process.

[0006] U.S. Pat. No. 5,975,454 shows one strap winder. This unit is hand held. One problem with this unit can be seen in FIG. 1 of the patent, it requires two hands to wind. This is true of the other winders available as well. This makes them difficult to use because there is not a hand free to guide the strap into the device and onto the roll. It is usually desirable to guide the strap with a free hand to prevent binding. Additionally this device is very complex, having many moving parts, thus this device is expensive to manufacture a bulky to store.

[0007] Thus it can be seen that there is a need for a strap rewind device that is simple to manufacture and easy and reliable to use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0008] The present invention uses a speed handle as disclosed in applicant's co-pending provisional U.S. patent application Ser. No. 60/434,949. The speed handle provides a device that can wind a strap using only one hand such that an operator has a second hand free to guide the strap onto the winch such that the user does not have to stop winding frequently to position the strap. The handle can wind the strap onto the truck mounted winch or it can wind the strap onto a separate portable hub for storage inside the cab of the truck.

[0009] A combination speed handle, winch and portable hub for winding a strap is disclosed. A one piece portable hub including a central shaft and two spaced arms provides a slot for winding a strap on. The portable hub can be mounted for rotation with an existing winch on a flat bed trailer. A central shaft on the portable hub is small enough to fit inside the central hole of the existing winch and the central shaft can be mounted for rotation with the central rotatable hub. A speed handle has an end portion engaging a radial hole in the rotatable hub such that rotation of the speed handle will rotate the central rotatable hub and the portable hub to wind a strap on said two spaced arms. Once wound, the strap can be removed from the portable hub for storage.

[0010] The separate portable hub is very simple and cheap to build. The separate portable hub is used in combination with the trailer winch, with the existing winch serving as a stable rotary bearing surface. Further benefits of the current invention will become apparent in the following detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011]FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of the device;

[0012]FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the device in use;

[0013]FIG. 3 shows a strap wound on the device;

[0014]FIG. 4 shows an alternate embodiment of the strap hub; and

[0015]FIG. 5 shows another alternate embodiment of the strap hub.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DEVICE

[0016]FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of the portable strap hub 10. A central shaft 12 has two spaced apart angle iron arms 14 attached to one end thereof by, for example welding. The shaft 12 can be a piece of pipe as shown or it can be a solid piece of bar stock. Through holes 16 can be drilled through an end of the shaft 12 opposite from the end where the angle iron arms 14 are attached. The arms 14 are spaced such that a slot 18 is formed between them.

[0017]FIG. 2 shows the strap hub 10 in use with a conventional strap winch 100 mounted on an edge of a trailer T. The winch 100 includes two brackets 101 supporting a central rotatable hub 102. The rotatable hub 102 includes a plurality of radial holes 104 that allow for the insertion of winding tools such as the speed handle 200. The rotatable hub 102 includes a central hole 106 which passes through the entire length of the rotatable hub 102. A slot 112 in the portion of the rotatable hub between the brackets 101 normally allows for an end of strap 120 to be inserted therein. Inserting the end of strap 120 in the slot 112 holds the strap so that it can be wound onto the rotatable hub 102 using the speed handle 200. The rotatable hub 102 can be rotated about axis A.

[0018]FIG. 2 also shows that the strap 120 can be inserted in the slot 18 created between the two arms 14. With the strap 120 held in the slot 18, the shaft 12 can be inserted through the central hole 106 of the rotatable hub 102. As shown in FIG. 2, the shaft 12 reaches the opposite end of the central hole 106 such that holes 16 can line up with one of the plurality of radial holes 104. With the holes 16 and 104 lined up an end 218 of the speed handle 200 can be inserted through both holes 16,104 locking the portable strap hub 10 into the rotatable hub 102. Then the strap 120 can be wound onto the portable strap hub 10.

[0019]FIG. 3 shows the strap 120 wound onto the portable hub 10 and the speed handle 200 removed from the central hub 102. As shown in FIG. 3, the speed handle 200 can include an arm 214 that will be long enough to pass through a pair of holes 104 in the lug portion 101 of rotatable hub 102. The disk 218 can prevent slippage of the handle 200 during use. The speed handle 200 can include a rotatable handle portion 222 that makes winding with one hand easy by reducing friction that would otherwise occur between the handle 200 and the hand. As shown in FIG. 3, the strap 120 and portable hub 10 are ready to remove from the winch 100 and the strap 120 can then be stored in a safe place and the portable hub 10 can be removed from the strap winding and used to wind another strap (not shown).

[0020] In operation, when a trucker delivers a load that was strapped down to a flat bed trailer T, the trucker needs to wind up the straps 120. The trucker can wind the straps 120 onto standard winches 100 provided on many flat bed trailers, but it is easy to steal the straps 120 from such a winch 100 and the trucker has to pay to replace them. Thus many truckers wish to remove the straps 120 from the trailer, T, for storage. A portable hub 10 has a shaft 12 that can be inserted through the central hole 106 provided in most winches 100. The holes 16 completely through the shaft 12 can be aligned with a pair of radial holes 104 in the rotatable hub 102. A winding tool such as speed handle 200 is inserted through both holes 16 and 104 to rotatably lock the portable hub 10 into the winch 100. An end of strap 120 can then be placed in the slot 18 between the two arms 14 and then turning the handle 200 to rotate the rotatable hub 102 and portable hub 10 will wind the strap 120 about the arms 14. The winding only requires one hand to turn the handle 200. The other hand is free to guide the strap 120 onto the portable hub 10 to make a neat roll as shown in FIG. 3. Once the strap 120 is completely rolled up the handle 200 can be removed from the holes 16,104 and the portable hub 10 and strap 120 can be removed from the winch 100. The portable hub 10 can then be removed from the strap 120 roll and placed in the next winch, not shown, to wind the next strap. The strap 120 roll can be stored in any location desired such as a tool box or within the cab of the truck.

[0021]FIG. 4 shows an alternate embodiment of the portable strap hub 310. The hub 310 includes a shaft 312 and holes 316. In this embodiment the arms 314 are round bars used to create a slot 318 for the strap 120. Use of the embodiment of FIG. 4 would be the same as for the embodiment of FIG. 1.

[0022]FIGS. 5 and 5a show a third embodiment. The portable strap hub 410 includes a central shaft 412 having a enlarged section 411 having a diameter that is too large to fit through the central hole 106 of the winch. The central shaft tapers down to a smaller diameter 413. The arms 414 are formed by cutting slots 418 to accommodate the strap 120. In use the smaller diameter 413 is started into the hub central hole 106. As the central shaft 412 is forced into the central hole 106 the central shaft 412 will wedge against the central hole 106 and a frictional fit is created that will lock the portable strap hub 410 to the rotatable hub 102. Once locked the strap 120 can be started in a slots 418 and the strap can be rolled onto the portable strap hub 410 as before. The portable strap hub 410 can be formed by casting or can be made from a single piece of stock with a taper machined on it or the taper could be built up on central shaft 412 with, for example, an elastic coating material. FIG. 5a shows that there are three slots 418 separating three arms 414, of course any number of slots could be used.

[0023] The portable hub 10 has been shown in use in conjunction with a speed handle 200. The portable hub 10 could be used in conjunction with any winding tool that will rotate the rotatable hub 102. Though shown with shaft 12 inserted through the entire length of central hole 166, other arrangements could be used to lock the portable hub to the winch for rotation, for example the shaft 12 could be coated with a rubber material and could be wedged into the hole 106 to frictionally lock it to the rotatable hub 102. Another arrangement not shown would be to pin the shaft through slot 112 in the winch, this would allow for a shorter shaft 12 on the portable hub. 

1. A combination speed handle, winch and portable hub for winding a strap, said combination comprising: a one piece portable hub including a central shaft and two spaced arms, said winch including a central rotatable hub having an axis of rotation, a lug on one end of said central rotatable hub, said lug including at least one radial hole perpendicular to said axis of rotation, a central hole having a central hole diameter and centered on said axis and passing through said central rotatable hub and said lug, a diameter of said central shaft being small enough to fit inside said central hole and said central shaft mounted in said central hole for rotation with said central rotatable hub, a speed handle having an end portion engaging said radial hole such that rotation of the speed handle will rotate the central rotatable hub and said portable hub to wind a strap on said two spaced arms.
 2. The combination of claim 1 wherein, said combination is adapted for use on a trailer.
 3. The combination of claim 1 wherein said winch includes a slot for winding said strap and wherein said portable hub can be removed from said central hole.
 4. The combination of claim 3 wherein said central shaft includes a through hole adapted to align with said radial hole of said lug such that when said speed handle end portion engages said radial hole the end portion also engages said through hole.
 5. A combination speed handle, and portable hub for winding a strap, said combination comprising: a one piece portable hub including a central shaft and two spaced arms, said central shaft adapted to be mounted for rotation on a strap winch hub and; a speed handle adapted to rotate said winch hub to wind a strap on said portable hub.
 6. The combination of claim 5 wherein said portable hub includes a through hole, said speed handle including an end portion adapted to engage said through hole during rotation of said strap winch hub.
 7. The combination of claim 5 wherein said portable hub is adapted to frictionally fit within said strap winch hub.
 8. The combination of claim 5 wherein said speed handle includes a rotatable handle portion adapted for use with a single hand.
 9. A combination strap winch and portable hub adapted for winding a strap, said combination comprising: a one piece portable hub including a central shaft and a first slot, said winch including a central rotatable hub having an axis of rotation, a lug on one end of said central rotatable hub, a central hole having a central hole diameter and centered on said axis and passing through said central rotatable hub and said lug, a diameter of said central shaft being small enough to fit inside said central hole and said central shaft mounted in said central hole for rotation with said central rotatable hub, to form a strap winding on said central shaft.
 10. The combination of claim 9 wherein said portable hub is adapted to frictionally fit within said central rotatable hub.
 11. The combination of claim 10 wherein said combination is adapted for use on a trailer.
 12. The combination of claim 10 wherein said winch includes a second slot for engaging said strap during winding and wherein said portable hub can be removed from said central hole.
 13. The combination of claim 9 wherein said central shaft includes a through hole adapted to align with a radial hole in said lug such that when a speed handle end portion engages said radial hole the end portion also engages said through hole.
 14. The combination of claim 9 wherein the portable hub and strap winding can be removed from said winch for storage. 